Tentative 10-year deal for operation of Playland

Updated 10:11 pm, Friday, April 5, 2013

A water fountain at Playland in Rye, N.Y., on Aug. 5, 2010. A private partnership has tentatively agreed to refresh and manage the money-losing and Westchester County-owned amusement park for at least the next 10 years.
Photo: File Photo, ST

A private partnership has tentatively agreed to refresh and manage Playland park in Rye for at least the next 10 years.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said Thursday that the money-losing and county-owned amusement park -- long a destination for residents of Greenwich and other lower Fairfield County citizens -- could be taken over on Oct. 1 by Sustainable Playland Inc.

However, the company can pull out if approvals are not in place by Jan. 1.

Some approvals must come from the county Legislature, and several members expressed doubts about the deal Thursday.

Astorino announced in October that he had chosen Sustainable Playland after a competition.

The group's plan includes keeping Playland open year-round, retaining its historic rides and adding a small water park, a fieldhouse, sports fields and a "Great Lawn" under a letter of intent signed last fall.

The plan calls for Sustainable Playland to invest $34 million in capital improvements, pay Westchester County at least $1.2 million a year and end an annual drain on taxpayers estimated at $3 million to $5 million, Astorino said at the time.

Some of the park's newer rides would come down to make room for the lawn, gardens and a vista of Long Island Sound.

But the 85-year-old park's best-known features -- the wooden Dragon roller coaster, the old carousel, Kiddyland and a boardwalk featured in the 1988 movie "Big," staring Tom Hanks -- would be retained.

Admission, including access to the Great Lawn, would be free. Fees would be charged for certain rides and other attractions within the six zones of the park (amusement with rides, water, sports, restaurants, Great Lawn and common area).

This year, Playland will continue to be operated by the county, and is scheduled to open on May 11.

The boardwalk, which was heavily damaged during Hurricane Sandy, will be repaired and is expected to open by the end of May. The prognosis for the Ice Casino, which took a beating from the storm as well, is not nearly so good. It likely won't reopen until next year.

Not everyone is happy with the plan to revitalize Playland. The group Save Rye Playland bemoans the loss of too many rides and says Playland should primarily remain an amusement park.

The Art Deco amusement park -- the only one of its kind in the country -- is on the National Register of Historic Places. Playland is several miles south of Greenwich and approximately 25 miles north of midtown Manhattan.